China is one of the leading nationals in the world. It has recently become the greatest mobile smart device market. These statistics are based on Tablets, iPads, Android phones and iPhones.  At the end of January, reports say that China and the U.S were neck and neck with 222 million device and 221 million devices. China is expected to increase that number to 246 million and the US only to about 230 million.

The US is not expected to regain the lead because of China’s population. The only country that would even come close to taking control of active smart device would be India, but even then that is far off.  China is not the “fastest” growing market anymore though. Smaller countries have been surpassing china. Countries like Columbia, Vietnam, Turkey, Ukraine and Egypt are all growing faster in the mobile device area.

Android and the iOS markets have been going head to head for a while now. The Android phone and tablet market is the leader in China and the iOS market recently has taken the lead in the US. The only reason that the US has been leading in the smart device market is because of the holidays, which gives the devices a huge boost. The market in the US has hit a plateau and now that the market is saturated, it will only stay the same or become less over time.  I can’t wait for the next big device to hit the mobile market.

Mobile devices allow the convenience of the internet, at any time, no matter where you are, as long as you have a connection. Businesses are hesitant to allow these trends to affect the work environment of their enterprise.  Mobile devices would be a great tool for most if not all enterprises. It would allow employees to access any aspect of their position at any time and not just around their desk computer. The mobile capabilities of enterprises would connect people in a way they were not connected before.  Each person would be able to act as an IT person by adding and removing apps, procure the devices and maintain them as well.

There is a downside to this great technology within the enterprise. The cost of going mobile is pretty high and enterprises are skittish about the idea. It’s not just the price of the actual device, but everything that goes with it. Such cost could be apps, upgrades, software’s, licensees etc. There have been thoughts of ways to reduce the cost of going mobile but everything seems to be flawed.

BYOD is a term used in reducing the cost of enterprise mobility. Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) to work will in fact reduce the cost, but for how long. With the use of your own device, people get distracted from there day to day work activities. With your own device you can easily access your Facebook or Twitter and could use up some of the companies time, in fact making it costly for them.

Enterprise Mobility is a fairly new concept. With the dawn of the app and tablet it has become aware that the tides are turning for any company. Paperless is the key word. Many companies are going paperless, meaning everything is done virtually and hardly if any paper is used. Mobile Devices are completely paperless and allow everything to be accessed at any time. Mobility is becoming the new standard for completing a variety of tasks and almost everyone owns some sort of mobile device, whether it be an iPhone or a Tablet.

The Z10 BlackBerry is the newest phone to arrive from BlackBerry for several years now. BB10 is the new OS for the phone and it is impressive on all levels. RIM is the company that has manufactured this product and look to have great success or die trying with this phone. The phone is unlike all other BlackBerry phones. The Z10 is completely gesture based. Swipe up, down, and across to open close, maximize and minimize apps and documents.

The Z10 has a new virtual keyboard, the same ones seen in the Android and iOS phones. The keyboard has added high quality touch and word predictions to the phone. Over all viewers say it is very polished and professional. A nice feature it has is the Bed Time mode which turns off all alarms and buzzes except your alarm clock. Z10 does not use Google maps for its widget, so it is a bit lacking and there is no panorama camera, which most thought it would have had by now.

The Z10 is 4GLTE with a 4.2 inch screen, a .35 thickness, and weighs 4.8 ounces. The Z10 and Q10 have an 8 Mega Pix camera, 1.5 GHZ dual core Snap-Dragon S4 Processor.  Both have 2 GB of Ram and 16 GB of internal memory. The Q10 has a bigger battery than the Z10, but that’s not a huge issue. Both have 1280 x 768 HD resolution (335 mega pix per inch), 720 p Video and 1080p HD video which is better than the iPhone and gives you great quality images.

The Difference between the Z10 and the Q10 is the fact that one has a virtual keyboard and the other has the tradition keyboard. Believe it or not there are some people that still like to actual press down buttons to enter keys. The Q10 has a screen that is half the size as the Z10 to incorporate the older style keyboard. The Z10 with BB10 was released in the UK yesterday and won’t be available in the US till March. The retail price for the Z10 is $199 with contract and $599 without contract. The Q10 is thought to be released in April and there is no word on the price yet.

Rumor has it that the Galaxy S 4 will surpass the iPhone in many ways. The first and most sought after features are the display and thickness. Since everyone buys with their eyes these days, having a sleek and sexy phone is important. Speculations say that the Galaxy 4 will be thinner than the iPhone 5 which is really hard to believe, but I am sure they can be creative and figure out a way to do so. They also have made the display bigger increasing it to what I believe to be 5 inches.

Another rumor and feature that this phone will have is something out of space age technology.  It is said to have a projected keyboard feature. This means it will have a dock to display of a surface keyboard for which you can type on instead of using your phone. I think if this works, which is a very good possibility, it will be very cool and the first phone or device to it, and maybe even the first of anything to do it.

Some rumored specs for the Galaxy 4 are these:

• 1080 p Grand Amoled Display
• 13mp camera
• 2.0GHZ 4 quad processor
• Android 5.0 Key Lime Pie

The Galaxy 4 is said to be released early 2013, but these rumors are just rumors and with the release of the Galaxy 3 a few months ago I doubt that the Galaxy 4 will release anytime soon. These features are possible but they are just rumors at this point in time. I am looking forward to seeing what the new phone will have

Windows 8 differs from other Windows operating systems because it focuses on improved user experience for mobile devices. Windows 8 implements new technologies such a USB 3.0, cloud computing, and low-power ARM architecture. The new Windows OS also takes advantage of advanced security features including malware filtering and antivirus software.

One of Windows 8 most notable differences is a new user interface based on Microsoft’s “Metro” design language. This new user interface includes a Start screen with applications displayed as a grid of tiles. The new Windows 8 desktop interface was designed to emphasize the use of a touchscreen, much different than previous Windows user interfaces.

In addition to the new Windows 8 OS, Windows has a new app store which runs within a new set of APIs known as Windows Runtime. Windows Runtime supports programming languages including C, C++, VB.NET, C#, along with HTML5 and JavaScript. The Windows Store offers both mobile and desktop apps solely for Windows applications.

Windows 8 applications seem to have been getting some mixed reviews. As of now, Google has stated that they do not plan on developing any Windows 8 apps because they do not believe there is enough interest in the minority operating system. With the Windows 8 OS still being very new, it is hard to say whether or not it will become the next big thing. However, I’m sure we will be seeing a lot more Windows 8 applications being developed and gaining more popularity in the near future.

The Surface has is a really nice product. It’s fast, reliable and has the functionality of 2 separate devices. The Surface offers the touch screen, which has been getting great reviews by users. The ability to type and create power points, word documents, etc. has thrilled many people familiar with the windows platform. Microsoft Surface is very portable and comfortable to use in your lap.

The new and improved Windows 8 platform is very desirable, but reviewers say it takes a bit getting used to. Windows completely revamped itself making this a hot ticket item. People seem a little skittish around the pricing. One reviewer mentioned that for the price you are getting a great device. He even goes on and says that it has replaced his tablet and lap top.

PROS

• Incorporates Lap top and Touch Screen Features
• Has new Windows 8 operating platform
• USB ports
• HDMI port
• File Explorer
• microSDXC slot
• Office RT
• Very resistent VaporMg case
• Live Tiles
• Has great HD screen even in High Glare

Cons

• Doesn’t have a loud enough click when attaching Keyboard
• Not compatible with many apps
• Windows 8 takes a while to learn
• It’s not selling very well.
• Not cheap.
• Doesn’t have a 128GB model

The Surface was originally just in Microsoft store or online for customers. Since they aren’t selling like they predicted ( 2 million before Jan 1) they are beginning to offer the surface into retail stores. The prices are a bit steep but they are worth the money that you pay for them. They do not offer a whole lot of apps like iPad or tablets , but Windows is working on getting more available.

It’s that time of year again! Thanksgiving is quickly approaching and while it’s a great holiday to spend time with family and friends and enjoy some great food, it can also be quite stressful. Entertaining guests and planning the right food is not always an easy task. Luckily, there are plenty of great Thanksgiving apps out there to help the day go smoothly and take some of the stress away. Here are some great apps to help you plan your Thanksgiving holiday celebration:

Chow: Thanksgiving Dinner Coach (free)

This iOS app makes preparing for the holiday easy as pie. This app provides you with step-by-step tutorials on how to prepare and cook the turkey. It even creates a shopping list of items you will need as well as a cooking timer based on the size of your turkey.

Whack a Turkey ($.99)

Every year, just after Thanksgiving an event takes place called Black Friday. Retail stores all across the United States lower their prices and have tremendous savings on
quality products. This event causes a shopping apocalypse for people all over the US.

Black Friday is a planned, well thought-out, and hectic day for shoppers. People line up, camp and wait outside stores so they can get to the best sales before everyone else. It is a big deal in the US and stores take advantage of this very well-known day. Stores plan on opening earlier than normal like Best Buy, which is opening at 12 am that day. Stores hand out ticket vouchers for certain, high priority items. This is the biggest shopping day of the year, so tie your shoes, get your coat and head lets go.

The top places to go for Black Friday are limitless.  If you are a dedicated shopper you will make the way to your top stores. Best Buy, Target and Wal-Mart are top for everyone’s places to visit this day. Some places like sears and K-mart open before Black Friday to get a head start on the day of crazy shopping.  Online shopping is another to help with the hustle and bustle of Black Friday. Instead of having to wait in ridiculous lines or fight your best friend for the last iPod on the shelf, you can go online and shop from home. There are deals that are leaked online before magazines and newspapers, so check it out.  Online views will give you at least a plan of attack for your one day shopping Bonanza.

There are many Black Friday Apps that will help you navigate around your shopping schedule.

• List Bliss- gives users the ability to synch their lists for free, in real-time. If you are part of a tag-team, the function means you won’t accidentally buy two of the same item.
• Zoomingo- lets shoppers get a jump start and find all the best deals locally with a searchable catalog of pre-Black Friday sales from all the national retailers. Shoppers can create a “Watch List” of items they are planning to buy with their Pinterest account or from Zoomingo’s curated Watch N’ Save section. The app automatically sends a notification when the item goes on sale.

Black Friday discounts are widely known and sought after. Some places offer up to 75% discount for certain products. Best Buy this year is offering a 40 inch flat screen for 179.00 with a savings of 240. That is huge!! Other retail vendors are doing the same with a variety of products and you will need to do some research to see which you are going to buy.

Black Friday is dangerous. Be careful driving, buying, and selling things can get out of hand quick. Be sure to check out the latest deals in the most popular retail stores and go online to plan your day. Happy Hunting!